Realistic career advice from writer/editor Bianca Bass

Bianca Bass is a London-based writer, editor and content strategist. Her popular newsletter includes interviews with entrepreneurs and interesting links related to creativity. She also blogs regularly about her own career musings. In this interview, she talks about creativity, risk-taking, her writing style, and more.

How would you explain what you do?

The short answer is that I write! I write a blog and newsletter about careers, creativity and being human, I lead TripAdvisor’s copywriting team and I consult freelance clients on their content strategies.

I’m incredibly curious about the human condition, especially around the topic of work. So I decided to explore it further through my blog and the response has been overwhelming. I share my stories while leaving enough space for other people to see themselves in my writing, too.

Because work is often difficult and boring and isolating, career advice isn’t one-size-fits-all and, no matter who we are, we all need reminders that we’re doing ok.

What are you currently working on?

Honestly? Growing my audience. It’s so easy for me to just write, write, write. I have so many ideas. So many topics I want to explore. But any blog or website should have an 80:20 rule. 20% content creation, and 80% promotion. So, above everything, I’m focusing on being my own publicist right now.

How would someone recognize your work?

(Hopefully!) by the no-bullshit tone of voice. Readers have commented how simple my work is and it’s intentional. I want my writing to be accessible to anyone – whether English is your first language or your third. Plus, my friends and family have commented on how much my blog actually sounds like me, which I’ll take as a compliment.

My litmus test when publishing something is: is this exactly how I would articulate this in person, over breakfast, on the phone? In fact, that’s my number one piece of advice to anyone who writes: write how you speak. You have a voice. Use it.

How do you choose your core work and side projects?

My core work is circumstantial. I do my day job for the same reason we all do: money. However, I’m grateful to work for a forward-thinking, global company. I’ve learnt so much. I became a manager of a team when I was just 23, and it was the biggest and most positive learning curve of my life to date. I was intimidated to manage a group of people who were all older than me. I was totally out of my comfort zone.

And that’s how I’ve chosen my core work and side projects ever since. If it makes me feel uncomfortable, I know I’m doing it right.

What is the piece of work you are most proud?

I’m continually proud of my newsletter and the audience I’ve grown in just a few months. I love the format: blog posts, design-led visuals, recommended links and a candid interview with someone I admire. It’s something I would love to receive myself. Again, I think that’s an important question to ask yourself when creating: is this something I would love myself?

Where do you get the ideas for your work?

Often from the most unexpected places! It can be an unassuming conversation with a co-worker, or catching up with a friend and hearing their latest dilemma. I listen to situations, identify the core feeling or fear and then write about it. But mostly it’s from my own experiences. In many ways, my day job is my muse.

However, on uneventful weeks or at times when I’m feeling deflated, I take myself to a book store, select a variety of things at random and browse the content pages. There’s always a topic or even a word that triggers a thought, and that eventually becomes a blog post.

How would you define creativity?

I think everyone’s definition of creativity is deeply personal. To me, it’s freedom of expression. It’s producing something without money at the forefront of my mind. It’s the thing that keeps me sane. It keeps me balanced. It brings me a little closer to myself each day. It’s not doing it because I feel I should, but because I have to.

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